Soup in a Bag...

It is so nice to be back where such wonderful fresh produce is so readily available.  This morning, in the little Friday market in Viguera, this bag of freshness caught my eye.  All the ingredients for sopa de guia, a soup made from squash, its tendrils, flowers and leaves, all in a corn based broth. I've never made it before, but I've had it many times.  It's a true Oaxacan soup.  Normally, the broth is made using corn husks, but there was a pickup truck loaded with fresh corn, so....

The finished product was quite close to the real thing.  Very tasty and oh so healthy!

And enough for days!

Welcome back...

It is good to be back in Oaxaca.  The transformation of the countryside is dramatic.  Everything is so lush and green now.  The garden is a jungle!  The sunflowers in the garden were barely a meter tall when I left now they are well over two closing in on three.... Oh, there are some mighty weeds, too.

Not in Kansas anymore....

It has been a very wet and cold spring in New England and everything is incredibly lush and green.  I'm here for a few more days and after six months of the dry season in Oaxaca, it is otherworldly.  My garden here is pretty much no or low maintenance. It has to be, but I love how wild and natural it looks.  My "lawn."

And so much fun to see dogwoods that I planted as tiny seedlings. 

Look at them now!

I know the rains have come to Oaxaca.  Actually, they had started just before I left, but I'm excited thinking how much the gardens there have been rejuvenated by the return of the rains.  But for now, I am enjoying all the hosta, myrtle, pachysandra and Solomon Seal, all very low maintenance.

Cazadores de Tesoros

Most of the TV I watch is in Spanish, but every now and then, I see something in English with subtitles in Español.  It's a great way to learn the language and expand my vocabulary.  And so it is with the History Channel's "American Pickers" or as it is known in Mexico, "Cazadores de Tesoros" (Treasure Hunters.) In it, two guys from Iowa, Frank and Mike, travel across the country in search of valuable antiques.  Some of the things that always excite them are old signs of any sort.  They pay good money for them.  I bet they would love this one from just done the road from mi casa.